Blues boss Paul Jewell says 17-year-old midfielder Josh Carson has been getting better with every first team match. The Town manager handed the Northern Ireland U21 international his full debut in the 2-0 win against Scunthorpe last month and then kept him in the side for the win at Burnley and then his two-goal performance in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace.
Jewell said: "I think he’s got better with every game. For the first game he didn’t realise he was playing until the Friday,
"For the second he was away from home against Burnley and played in a very good performance by the team.
"Against Crystal Palace he had lots of the ball, tried a few flicks and tricks and he doesn’t lack confidence, which as anyone will tell you is a great thing. And he’s tough, he’s not scared, so he’s got a chance.”
The Town boss says he was chuffed to discover youngsters such as Carson already at the club when he took over from Roy Keane in January: "It’s a bonus for a manager when you come in. You want to improve the squad for next season and probably from day one I realised we had someone that could be in the team, never mind the squad.
"It’s good, but again, we’ve got to be careful, he’s still a kid, he’ll have peaks and troughs and he might not play every week because young players are inconsistent.
"He’s certainly got the mental strength to be a player. We can talk all day about ability but he can handle the big stage, that’s not a problem for him.
"He came across and trained with the pros and straight away you could see that there was an edge to him, he doesn’t care who they are. He respects them, but he doesn’t really care and wants to do better and learn. He’s got a great attitude and good ability, which isn’t a bad mix.”
Jewell says Carson’s progress shows other young players such as first-year scholar Joe Whight, who was offered a two-year professional deal this week, and next season’s academy intake what can be achieved: "On Friday there was a lunch for the new players that are coming in next season with their mums and dads, and they were all here on Saturday.
"It must give them hope that if they’re good enough, they’ll get a chance. A team like Ipswich needs its academy to be strong, which it is, and at the moment it’s produced two players that are playing in the first team.
"Referring to Josh, this is just the start of the ladder, there’s a lot of work ahead of him yet and I don’t want him getting too carried away.
"But it’s great to see young players coming through from our academy, and it’s great for the academy.”
The Blues boss has repeatedly mentioned Carson forgetting to clean his boots, but with performances like Saturday’s Jewell’s not going to be getting too angry with him: "He’s had so many last chances it’s unbelievable. Perhaps I’ll start cleaning his soon!”